The Tale of the Bridge

September 11, 2009

Once upon a time there used to be a wild moody white sea in the hearth of the blue planet. On the north coast of the sea there was the kingdom of Eurapia, a kingdom of infinite green fertile lands and hard working people. On the south coast of the sea however, was situated another kingdom, the kingdom of Arapia, a land of endless charming sand and generous people. Eurapians never saw any Arapians in their life, and Arapians only heard about Eurapians from the stories reported by the sailors. Yet, every night both people would sit in front of the sea to watch the lights coming from the other shore and tell stories of monsters, ogres and tyrants living on the other side.

The Land of Eurapia has witnessed many wars in order to get united and lost many young men and women. Therefore, the kingdom needed workers to cultivate the soil and harvest the land otherwise the wheat fields will be spoiled. On the other part of the sea, drought hit the lands of Arapia for years and its numerous populations started facing the danger of starvation. Both kingdoms started thinking about solutions to avoid the misfortune that came to perturb their peaceful lives in the White Sea, but were unable to find sustainable solutions.

The Eurapian king had a beautiful and wise daughter called Sofia who came to him one day and said: “The wheat fields are getting spoiled and the only solution is to hire Arapian workers to save our kingdom”. The king turned red in anger and said: “How you dare to say that! Arapians are barbarians they invaded our land in the past, they imposed their Gods and stole our treasures. These people are backward bloody creatures who cover the faces of their women and kill with their swords whoever wants to approach them.” Sofia was chocked by her father’s reaction, and said before living the royal hall: “I hope that you will not let prejudice blinding you, and sacrifice your people for your fears”.

The Arapian king also had an intelligent lovely daughter called Hikmat, who tried to convince her father that the only way to save Arapia from starvation is to trade with the northern neighbors, but the king screamed in rage: “I don’t want to hear this subject anymore. Have you forgotten what their ancestors did to us? They attacked our lands, killed our men and separated our tribes. These people are arrogant greedy creatures who let their girls run naked and enslave who ever go to their lands.” Hikmat felt very sorry for her father’s attitude, and said in bitterness: “I know you are a wise king, so don’t let your stereotypes influence your judgment”.

Sofia and Hikmat sit each on her shore morning the fate of their people and picturing the obscure future of their dear lands. After hours of tears and sending smoke messages to each other as they used to do since they were kids, the two girls decided that it is high time to take action, so they started sailing with their small boats against the deadly waves of the sea until they reached the midway between the two kingdoms. However, before living to the unknown the princesses left a note to their people saying: “Beloved people, we decided to scarify our lives and to sail until the midway between the two kingdoms and remain there without food or water because we trust in our common future and that we can’t survive without getting together with our neighbors. If you want to save us and save your selves, you will have to build a bridge across the White Sea each from your side as a prove of your will to overcome your mutual prejudice and go further together”.

Two days have passed and the two kingdoms gathered all their wise men, armies and councilors to find a solution and save the princesses, but the two armies were tired of endless wars and the wise men weak because of the lack of food, so they both decided that they have nothing to lose and that they should take the risk of trusting the other and finally building the bridge between Eurapia and Arapia.

A campaign of free expression online, Kolena Laila (We Are All Laila *), has been launched on December 24 for the fourth consecutive year and will last until 31 December. The goal is for all of us (bloggers, authors…etc), to express ourselves freely and comment on the situation of women in Morocco and the Arab world. Bloggers, journalists, experts, authors and anonymous writers throughout the region and beyond, are meeting during a week to express their opinions, compare their views, share their experiences and suggest solutions to problems where appropriate.

The initiative is independent, led by bloggers and dedicated volunteers throughout the region.

Women and men are invited to contribute by writing articles, photos, drawings, essays, audio or otherwise. Submit your entry on your personal blog, adding the badge or a link to the site Kolena Laila [Ar, En], or send your contribution to hisham@kolenalaila.com and it will get its way to the main website. All ideas are welcome in Arabic, English or French. We welcome your contributions to this meaningful dialogue and count on you to make the voice of Morocco heard in the debate. Oxford university is following the initiative and will be publishing a study on reactions raised by the campaign.

hi sarah,
i don’t know if you remember me or not, i was one of your friends but only on the phone.
hhhhhhhh
so, i’m now an english student, and i need your permission to use this short story and some of your articles in my classroom as an articles for reading and discussing;
if you are ok, please send me an email in :